Well, I’m not sure where I stand with my current novel manuscript.
Back in February, I began querying literary agents. So far, I’ve received nothing but form letter rejections. Over 30, in fact.
I’ve also entered several contests trying to win the attention of an agent or editor, and I’ve lost out on all of those.
The big problem is that I don’t know what I don’t know. That is, I’m struggling to understand why I’m getting nowhere. I’ve studied and studied. I’ve revised numerous times, both the manuscript and the query letter. Based on everything I read, I’m doing everything right. I’m not making any obvious mistakes. I would happily adjust/change/edit anything, if I only knew what to adjust/change/edit.
So the big question is: now what?
Many people have suggested hiring a professional editor. Unfortunately, I cannot afford even the cheapest one of those, and will not be able to do so for the foreseeable future.
Others suggest going to a writers’ conference. Again, the problem is money. It’s simply not feasible at this time.
Do I abandon Viridia and move on?
I’m not ready to do that. I’m waiting on some (hopefully) helpful feedback from a couple of people. After that, I have a list of a few more agents I will query. If I continue to receive nothing but form rejections, I may have no choice but to move on.
At that point, yes, I will probably consider self publishing. The problem is that I’ve never been very good at selling things. But it’s a consideration I will make, very carefully and thoughtfully.
But at the same time, I’ve been brainstorming my next project. While I have three sequels to Viridia loosely plotted, I won’t work on those for now. Instead, I’m toying with ideas for another fantasy novel that will be very different from Viridia. It’s more of an epic, high fantasy.
Regardless of which direction I go, I will continue to write. My head is too full of stories not to…